Ronnie Hawkins’ Hawkstone Manor on the market for a cool $14.9 million

LAKEFIELD, ONT.—It’s far more museum than mansion, more Ronnie than remarkable, yet there’s no doubt this Stoney Lake property is just as one-of-a-kind as its rockabilly owner.

Canadian classic Ronnie Hawkins has always been one to call it like he sees it, in song or in jest. He sums up his Hawkstone Manor, for sale for $14.9 million, in a simple sentence:

“It’s a $100 house on a million-dollar property.”

The nine-bedroom, five-bathroom home is really only notable for the lifetime of memories that line its orange living room walls. A buyer would likely bring in a bulldozer.

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But the house sits atop a rare piece of prime Kawarthas real estate — 165 acres gently sloping down to almost 4,000 feet of waterfront that, on these sought-after shores of the Trent-Severn Waterway, can go for $5,000 a foot.

Hawkins, 78, who capped off his illustrious career last month with an Order of Canada, is slowing down and preparing to move on. Age, hard living and a bout of pancreatic cancer that was expected to kill him more than a decade ago, and is now mysteriously gone, have taken their toll.

His wife, Wanda, has her eye on a new place in Peterborough that’s closer to doctors and grocery stores and doesn’t require costly upkeep.

But Hawkins has his place up for sale grudgingly. Hawkstone Manor, where Wanda moved 42 years ago and raised their three children, has always been the singer’s safe haven from the rigours of the road, an escape from the crowds.

Hawkins delights now in watching what he calls the “Mutual of Omaha” scenes play out from his westerly facing hilltop perch almost daily — the foxes, the diving hawks, the occasional herd of deer.

He marvels at how the clouds and setting sun can transform the lake into a Renaissance painting.

“When I was young, I didn’t notice anything, other than girls,” Hawkins says with his trademark smile. “But as you get older, you notice a few other wonderful things out there . . . I spend a lot of time watching them now.”

The memories are still sharp and reminders are all around him here: the original portraits, countless awards, the framed personal letter from friend and fellow Arkansas native, Bill Clinton. There’s even the weather-beaten tour bus out back that hasn’t been on the road in years.

The hand-painted Baldwin baby grand in one corner of the living room, once played by Canadian jazz great Oscar Peterson, has been centre stage for many boisterous singalongs over the years, headlined by a Who’s Who of rock, blues and country.

“Just about everybody you can name has been here at least once,” Hawkins says.

Regulars included Kris Kristofferson, David Clayton Thomas and good friend Gordon Lightfoot who wrote one of his most famous songs, “Sundown,” during his frequent stays at one of Hawkstone Manor’s two guest cottages.

Those, along with the iconic barn where the Hawkins held their granddaughter’s wedding the July long weekend, are the most charming parts of the pricey property.

You have to pack a lunch to get to the lake from the main house, which is why most folks just jump in their cars and head down the dirt-and-gravel Hawkins Lane toward the guest cottages that sit on a stunning point of land, just steps from the water.

One, which Wanda aptly calls “the cabana,” features floor-to-ceiling glass, giving it the feel of a houseboat that never rocks. A few feet away is its rustic, clapboard sister where you can watch the wave action from the bathroom’s Jacuzzi tub.

The sprawling property could be subdivided, but in an era when privacy is at a premium, and so many Stoney Lake cottages are lined up side-by-side along the shoreline, Hawkins remains determined to keep this rare piece of Precambrian paradise intact.

Peterborough realtor Mighty Fallen says there have been more than 15,000 hits since the listing — which doesn’t feature a single interior shot of the house — hit MLS and YouTube a few months ago. Most of the interest has come from overseas.

One wealthy Russian toyed with turning the main house into servants’ quarters and building a showcase home closer to the water before deciding against putting in an offer. Someone from South Africa plans to visit in August.

But Fallen and Hawkins say the best query yet has come from Holland: A potential buyer there wanted to know if, for $14.9 million, he got the whole lake.